Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this bill.
As has been stated by a number of members, I think of how critical these kinds of issues are. It is good for us to reflect for a moment on the impacts on some of the new technologies and new developments that are almost exploding out there.
On these technologies, be it in the biotechnology area, on the Internet or in other things, this House often wrestles with key issues of what is in the public interest and how do we as custodians of the public trust serve the people who put us here effectively.
My primary and underlying concern on this bill is the requirement for us to ensure that public safety, as these new technologies come forward, has been properly addressed. I think of some of the developments in pharmaceuticals and even in food additives in the past that we were told were safe, that supposedly were tested. People took the experts at their word and either took the medication or consumed the product with very grievous results.
Sometimes we are so concerned and compassionate to quickly bring a product to market that may help those who are suffering or who are facing a very traumatic physical illness or life threatening illness. It is incumbent upon all of us to be very cautious. In our compassion to meet the short term need we may in fact cause a very serious disaster.
It is within that context that I support the bill and I support the unamended bill.
As these things come forward in the future, as they will for us to deal with, the overriding concern we must all have is what is in the public interest. Let us make sure that the controls are in place to allow the experts and those who develop these things to do all the appropriate testing, the long term testing so that we do not in our zeal to meet the needs of those who are facing life-threatening diseases actually cause more trouble than good.
We know that sometimes even those involved in research and the medical field are not always Snow White. There can be instances of abuse or exaggeration and exaggeration upon exaggeration. This is why we as custodians of the public trust must tread very carefully and slowly in this area.
I would suggest this is not just with respect to the area of human genetics and cloning but also in all kinds of biotechnology. Today some of the most grievous weapons in the world are biological weapons. When we start to manipulate the gene structures of plants and animals and other types of things, we have to be careful that the appropriate controls are in place, that if an accident or a mistake happens there are ways to shut it down quickly. We have seen what various viruses can do and what a tragedy it would be if it was a man-made problem that caused the deaths of millions.
At the same time, I am not saying that we should not explore this, but do it carefully. There may be developments that would solve the bone marrow transplant issue and many of the other tragic life-threatening things we see today. We do need to move into this arena I would say, but very cautiously and very carefully so that we can maximize the long term benefits to the people we are here to serve. We must make sure that we are not putting any of them at risk.
I commend the member for the bill. I commend all the members of the House who have spoken on this so eloquently. I think my comments have encapsulated what many of the members have said, that we do need to step carefully into this arena and make sure that we are taking every precaution. As we do in pharmaceuticals, certainly we need to do the same thing in this arena.